EXTERNAL RESOURCES

Kutsal Kitap (Turkish Bible): www.incil.info

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St. John Chrysostom: ON SCRIPTURE "But some one will say, 'it is to the priests that these charges are given' ... But that the apostle gives the same charge to the laity, hear what he says in another epistle to other than the priesthood: 'Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom.'" CLICK TO READ >>

"To pretend to preach the truth without offending carnal men, is to pretend to be able to do what Jesus Christ could not do."

Thomas Wilson

WILLIAM TYNDALE: AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE "God careth for his elect; and therefore hath provided them of scripture, to try all things, and to defend them from all false prophets." CLICK TO READ >>

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JOHN NEWTON QUOTES ON WHAT GOD REQUIRES: "The chief means for attaining wisdom, and suitable gifts for the ministry, are the Holy Scriptures, and prayer." READ MORE QUOTES >>

"Evangelical Vision of Yuce Kabakci"

by Yuce Kabakci

(Turkish Christian, a Former Muslim Converted to Jesus Christ)

"Let me share with you what He has laid on my heart in terms of ministry ... I am a Turk and Turkey is known to be the most unreached country in the entire world"

For more information or to find out how you can assist Yuce in his seminary training and his missionary work: Global Church Ministries www.globalchurchministries.us "It was as if the Lord Jesus Christ said the same things to me that we read in John 11:43: 'When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.' He called me and I came forth ... There were no Christians, no churches, no Christian bookstores around. He decreed that I would be saved and He came to save me" Yuce Kabakci, "The Testimony of Yuce Kabakci, Another Prodigal Son"

Now that you know how Christ saved me [see: "The Testimony of Yuce Kabakci, Another Prodigal Son"], let me share with you what He has laid on my heart in terms of ministry. As I said, I am a Turk and Turkey is known to be the most unreached country in the entire world. Today its population is approximately 70 or 75 million. The number of Christians (Catholics and Greek Orthodox excluded) is estimated between 2400-3500. Only 1 out of 32.000 people knows Jesus as Lord and Savior. The number of churches is only 90 and most of them are pastored by untrained and some by unqualified pastors. With that in mind, I felt the need to be trained in Scriptures in a more formal way, namely at a seminary. Right now, I am getting my Master of Divinity degree at Westminster Theological Seminary/ Dallas campus. There are three areas that I would like to specialize in. One of them is Apologetics. Apologetics is my first and foremost passion because I don’t believe that Christianity is one option among others (as most Christian apologists put it) but as Van Til said: “Christianity is the only reasonable position to hold. It’s not merely as reasonable as other positions, or a bit more reasonable than other positions; it alone is the natural and reasonable position for man to take”. Today Atheists like Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins not only defend Atheism but also propagating the idea that our children must be kept away from any religious claims. So it is our responsibility to show our non-Christian friend that unless he or she stands upon the Christian worldview, he or she is not able to account for anything in this world. Turks are

"The translation of the current Turkish Bible is very poor and I believe it is imperative that we have a correct (both literal and dynamic) translation of the Bible. To that end, I plan on taking some elective courses in advanced Greek."

facing the same danger today. Christians there try to defend their faith by actually compromising their ultimate commitments. Therefore, when I go back to Turkey, my desire is to teach them how they can be faithful to the Lord in defending their faith against all oppositions, whether it is atheism, Islam, deism or empiricism (Titus 1:9). My second area of emphasis will be Biblical languages. The translation of the current Turkish Bible is very poor and I believe it is imperative that we have a correct (both literal and dynamic) translation of the Bible. To that end, I plan on taking some elective courses in advanced Greek. Third area of emphasis will be hermeneutics (the art of biblical interpretation). Turkish pastors or teachers are very ignorant of how to go about interpreting the biblical text. As much as Christianity is a unit, also the Word of God is not to be taken in a vacuum. Biblical Hermeneutics will give me and to them the proper interpretation of the Bible so that as Paul said, as a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ.

In the past I worked for my church as a translator. I translated some Christian classics such as John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, some articles written by Loraine Boettner, John Piper,

"I translated some Christian classics such as John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, some articles written by Loraine Boettner, John Piper, Cornelius Van Til, B.B Warfield, The Synod of Dordt, Luther’s devotionals etc etc."

Cornelius Van Til, B.B Warfield, The Synod of Dordt, Luther’s devotionals etc etc. Since there are not many doctrinally sound books translated into Turkish, I will continue my work as a translator when I return. But the biggest of all my dreams is to establish a Turkish school of theology with my dear brother Fikret Bocek. Now, he and I are praying for this dream of ours to become a reality. Studying overseas is something almost impossible for Turks, but if we bring whatever we learned in

"The biggest of all my dreams is to establish a Turkish school of theology with my dear brother Fikret Bocek ... In the long run, we want that theological institution to be the school that sends out missionaries, pastors, and Bible teachers through entire Turkey and even abroad."

seminary to them, then they won’t have to learn another language or go through other hard times to be enrolled in a seminary in the US. In the long run, we want that theological institution to be the school that sends out missionaries, pastors, and Bible teachers through entire Turkey and even abroad. This warning in the book of Hosea still applies to our churches: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. (Hosea 4:6). I also believe that with the education I am receiving right now, it is my duty to pass it onto others: What you have heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others as well. (2. Tim 2:2). To summarize, I feel a burden in my heart for the Turkish people. They are living in darkness, not knowing where they are going. They try to be religious and godly but just like Paul felt that pity when he said that his own kinsmen had zeal for God but not in accordance with full knowledge (Romans 10:2) I have the same thoughts for my own kinsmen. I feel the same what Jesus felt for the people: “When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things. (Mark 6:34). This is my dream and I believe that even if I am not able to see these things taking place, God will bring them to fruition by those whom I will labor for. As I’ve studied Eschatology more in detail, I’ve gained this vision that the church of Christ will not be overcome by the evil of this world. When Jesus said; I will build my church on this rock, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it, He meant it literally. It was not just to get his disciples excited, but to give all of his disciples a source of hope, a reality to be expected. Let’s put our newspaper worldview aside and look at the wonderful promises that the Lord makes in his inerrant Word. And I firmly believe that the church in Turkey will have one day a huge impact on the entire country. It happened in Geneva, England and Scotland in the past, why not in Turkey? It will not be so because of what I do or plan but what God has promised in his Word regarding his kingdom. When he asked us to pray that “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”, he did not mean that “Pray this prayer but you’d better not expect this world to be changed by Christianity until I come back”. I will work, sweat and labor to the best of my ability to to advance the kingdom of Christ in Turkey. I will face depression,

"I ask you to be my partner on your knees. I can’t do any of these things without two things. First, the power of the Spirit and the second, the support of the body of Christ, which is you."

opression, and possibly pyhsical persecution but compared to my crown in heaven, these will be nothing but a means to take one more step further to that crown. As long as God gives me courage and faith to persevere, I will say the same things that Paul said to the elders in Ephesus: “And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. “But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry, which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God. (Acts 20)

So I ask you to be my partner on your knees. I can’t do any of these things without two things. First, the power of the Spirit and the second, the support of the body of Christ, which is you. I need your support. I need you to stand by me and encourage me when I grow weak and faint hearted. I need your prayers and any kind of help that God will lay on your hearts. With these two things backing me, I will work to make Turks sing as: ““DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. “O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Your unworthy servant in Christ Jesus
Yuce Kabakci

"Jesus came and spake unto them, saying ... Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." Matthew 28:18-20 KJV
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